EVE: Valkyrie Gets In-Atmosphere Gameplay

EVE: Valkyrie is entering the atmosphere next week with a new update titled Groundrush – the game’s fifth major free patch – coming to the CCP Games’ killer VR app that introduces an all-new style of map that brings players out of space for the first time and to the surface.

Groundrush releases for all platforms Tuesday, April 11th, 2017 and introduces ‘Solitude’ – a map that offers different types of hazards as starfighters battle near the ground (i.e. flying through canyons). The update also aims to make the Wormholes (added to the game in February) mode even crazier than it already is with dimension hopping, and features all-new types of environments and mechanics.

The implications of this expansion out of deep space and into the atmosphere opens up limitless possibilities for the future of EVE: Valkyrie and the types of experiences it can offer.

On the co-op side of things, two game modes (Control and Carrier Assault) have been added and here players team-up to battle AI. Progression rewards remain equal whether players play PvP or PvE across these modes.

Also added to the game are new win/loss animations to help immerse player avatars at the end of a match. Beyond the content additions, the Groundrush patch also offers improvements to the training modules, matchmaking, alongside various bug fixes.

For the PC version of the game, Steam Controller support is being officially added as well as a direct response to players asking for it on the Steam community forums for Valkyrie.

EVE: Valkyrie, which began as an internal prototype known as EVE-VR (and the reason I got into virtual reality), is barely a year old, releasing for Oculus Rift on March 28, 2016, on PlayStation VR October 13, 2016, and HTC Vive on November 17, 2016. Unlike other triple-A space sims (Elite: Dangerous, Star Citizen, etc.) EVE: Valkyrie cannot be played without a virtual reality headset, making it one of the rare full retail VR-exclusive killer apps. In its few months of multi-platform export, CCP has added and fleshed out the game significantly with major updates and free content additions, and seem dedicated to expanding it frequently into the future.

Stay Tuned: What’s Happening With Project Nova?

Stay tuned into the official EVE and CCP Games channels for more updates on EVE Online, EVE: Valkyrie, EVE: Gunjack, Sparc, Project Nova, and more!